The Waterproof Bible

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 - 7:30pm

Gladstone Hotel 2nd floor gallery, 1214 Queen St. W.

For centuries, wordsmiths have been afraid to so much as whisper about the ‘sophomore curse’. Do such hobgoblins have any place on the contemporary literary landscape? And can a four-foot high stack of abandoned manuscripts really serve as a sort of talisman and ward them off? To celebrate the release of The Waterproof Bible (Random House Canada), the follow-up to his critically acclaimed debut novel All My Friends Are Superheroes (Coach House Books), screenwriter and author Andrew Kaufman will discuss such mystical literary quandaries with Nathan Whitlock, author of the widely celebrated first book, A Week Of This (ECW Press). Marc Glassman, Executive Director of This is Not A Reading Series (TINARS), will host the evening.

– A TINARS event presented by The Force For Cultural Events Production, Random House Canada, Gladstone Hotel, NOW Magazine, Torontoist.com, and Take Five On CIUT.

The Waterproof Bible. A magical story of love and the isolation that defines the modern condition - Andrew Kaufman pulls off the near impossible and creates a wholly original allegorical tale that is both emotionally resonant and outlandishly fun.

Rebecca Reynolds is a young woman with a most unusual and inconvenient problem: no matter how hard she tries, she can't stop her emotions from escaping her body and entering the world around her. Luckily she's developed a nifty way to trap and store her powerful emotions in personal objects - but how many shoeboxes can a girl fill before she feels crushed by her past?

Three events force Rebecca to change her ways: the unannounced departure of her husband, Stewart; the sudden death of Lisa, her musician sister; and, while on her way to Lisa's funeral, a near-crash with what appears to be a giant frogwoman recklessly speeding in a Honda Civic.

Meanwhile, Lisa's inconsolable husband skips the funeral and flies to Winnipeg where he begins a bizarre journey that strips him of everything before he can begin to see a way through his grief… all with the help of a woman who calls herself God.

Andrew Kaufman's critically acclaimed first book, All My Friends Are Superheroes, was a cult hit and has been translated into six languages. Kaufman is also an accomplished screenwriter and has completed a Director's Residency at the Canadian Film Centre. He lives in Toronto with his wife and their two children.

Nathan Whitlock is the Books For Young People Editor of Quill & Quire magazine. His writing and reviews have appeared in The Toronto Star, Saturday Night, The Globe and Mail, Maisonneuve, Toro, Geist, and elsewhere. Whitlock released his widely praised debut novel, A Week Of This, last year and is currently working on its follow-up. He grew up in the Ottawa Valley and now lives in Toronto.